Action ALERT

East Timor and Indonesia Action Network

Tetum follows after English. This is a request for
citizens of Timor-Leste to write to the UN Security Council about
impunity and justice.

Tell the UN Security Council how you feel about justice!
They will discuss Timor-Leste on 23 October.

The United Nations Security Council will meet on Timor-Leste later this
month, in what is known as an open debate, where representatives of the
15 members of the council (see list below) and other governments make
statements. For the next two weeks, diplomats in New York will pay
attention to issues involving Timor-Leste, including issues of justice,
accountability and impunity for serious crimes and violations of human
rights committed during the Indonesian occupation from 1975 to 1999.

For years, these diplomats have heard from Timorese leaders, including
Jose Ramos-Horta, Xanana Gusmao and Zacarias
da Costa, that the Timorese people are not interested in justice for
past crimes and have other priorities for the country. As the recent
liberation of Maternus Bere shows, the governments of Indonesia and
Timor-Leste think that ending impunity is not as important as developing
friendly relations with people and institutions who committed crimes
against the people of Timor-Leste.

If, as a Timorese citizen, you don't agree with this, the UN Security
Council needs to hear from you, so that they have a better understanding
of Timorese views. The Security Council has the power to create an
International Tribunal, but they will never do it if they believe that
Timor-Leste doesn't want it. For years, the UN has promised justice and
accountability for human rights crimes committed during the Indonesian
occupation, but they done little except repeat their principle that
'impunity must not prevail anywhere.'

If Jose Ramos-Horta and Xanana Gusmao do not represent your views on the
issue of impunity, this is your chance to communicate your desire for
justice directly to the leaders of the international community. Tell
them who you are, what you think, what you want the Council to do, and
why. Don't worry about format or protocol; write according to your
capacity.

Letters can be from individuals or organizations, in Tetum or English,
handwritten, typed or emailed. If the letter is from an organization,
please put it on letterhead. The East Timor and Indonesia Action Network
(ETAN) and the International Federation for East Timor (IFET) will copy
your letter and deliver it to each Security Council member in New York.
Please email it to etan@etan.org in
MS Word or Adobe PDF format, or bring your letter on paper to La'o
Hamutuk's office in Farol, Dili.

Please send your letter as soon as it is ready, but no later than 19
October. Be sure to include your name and location.